Sea Turtle Conservation

By Kirsti Scott

Sea turtle hatchling crawling towards the ocean at sunrise (Andre-Johnson / Shutterstock.com).

Sea turtles are among the oldest creatures still living on earth, remaining relatively unchanged for at least 110 million years. There are seven species of sea turtles found worldwide: leatherback, green, hawksbill, loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley, olive ridley, and flatback. All seven species are currently critically endangered or threatened. Most species nest during warmer months and hatchlings emerge a few months later.

Pair of green sea turtles (blue-sea.cz / Shutterstock.com).

On the Atlantic coast of the U.S., the season is usually between March and November, with most nesting activity from May to October. Loggerhead turtles nest along the Gulf of Mexico generally between May and August, with their young emerging between July and October. In Australia, turtles nest in the warm summer between October and March. Loggerhead sea turtles nest in the Mediterranean from late April to September, and green sea turtles nest there from May to September. Several species of sea turtles nest along Pacific shorelines in Japan, Mexico, and Costa Rica during warmer seasons.

Green sea turtle laying her eggs on the beach at night (David Evison / Shutterstock.com).

During nesting season, female sea turtles usually crawl to the beach at night and lay their eggs in self-dug holes. The hatchlings emerge and crawl to the sea in unison to increase their chances of survival.

During the 110 million years they’ve been on earth, the biggest change for sea turtles is the health and safety of their habitats. Coastal development, pollution, strikes by watercraft, poaching, and accidental entanglement in fishing gear are only some of the hazards that endanger these beautiful creatures.

While beachcombers can’t eliminate all these dangers, following are ten ways we can help keep sea turtles safe during nesting season.

Loggerhead sea turtle nesting in Antalya, Turkey (fotopanorama360 / Shutterstock.com).

1. Keep the beach clean. Participate in an organized beach cleanup or make it a regular practice to pick up any trash you come across on the beach. Don’t leave beach furniture or toys on beaches where turtles may nest overnight, and fill in human-made holes in the sand so that hatchlings and mothers have a clear path to the water. Don’t leave out food that might attract predators to the beach that might prey on hatchlings. Leave natural material left by the tides, as it is a food source for animals along the shore.

Sea turtle nest on St. Pete Beach, Florida MattRasmussenphotography / Shutterstock.com).

2. Give the turtles space. Stay at least 50 feet from turtles and their nests. All species of sea turtles and their nests are protected by the Endangered Species Act and should not be disturbed—it is illegal to harm, harass, or take nesting sea turtles, their eggs and hatchlings. In some locations, turtle nests are marked and monitored by volunteers, so be on the lookout for these protected areas. Keep your pets at home during nesting season to protect wildlife.

Man using red flashlight (qunamax / Shutterstock.com). Baby sea turtle nest, Costa Rica (MicheleHastings / Shutterstock.com).

3. Turn off the lights. Make sure mother and baby turtles are not disoriented by lights after dark. If you are at the beach while it is dark, don’t use flashlights, phone lights, or flash photography during nesting season. If you have a house next to the beach, turn off lights and close curtains along the beach. If you need to be on the beach, use a turtle-safe, red-light headlamp, which is less likely to affect turtles.

Newly hatched olive ridley turtles stuck in a fishing net, Bay Of Bengal, India (Biswanath Swain / Shutterstock.com)

4. Spread the word. Educate others about the need to protect turtles, their nests, and their habitat, and donate to organizations who do so. If you are in Florida, report anyone disturbing a sea turtle or nest or any sightings of sea turtles that are sick, injured, entangled, or dead to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Wildlife Hotline at 888-404-3922.

Sea Turtle eating plastic bottle (Rich Carey / Shutterstock.com).

5. Ditch the plastic. Reduce single-use plastics in your daily life, replacing them with eco-friendly options. Skip plastic straws and plastic bags whenever possible. Educate others on how helium-filled balloons released into the sky often end up in the ocean where they are eaten by turtles, who mistake them for food.

6. Keep the water clear. Use reef-safe sunscreen when swimming in the ocean. Dispose of chemicals and fertilizers used at home safely, and select biodegradable alternatives when possible.

7. Look out below. Use caution when boating in areas where turtles nest. Don’t anchor in seagrass, obey speed signs, and be on the lookout for turtles.

8. Boycott turtle products. Don’t buy products made with turtle shells, meat, fats, eggs, or any parts of their bodies.

9. Drive a car in Florida? Get a “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” specialty license plate, which supports Florida’s Marine Turtle Protection Program and helps fund the Sea Turtle Grants Program.

10. Help fund research. Adopt an endangered sea turtle and support Sea Turtle Conservancy’s programs focusing on sea turtle research, education, advocacy and the protection of important habitats.

Newly hatched baby leatherback turtle (IrinaK / Shutterstock.com).

With our support, sea turtles will be able to thrive for another 110 million years.

Sea Turtle Species

 

Species	Distribution
Green	West coasts of North and South American from Baja California to Peru
Loggerhead	Worldwide
Kemp’s Ridley	Adults usually are found in the Gulf of Mexico, while juveniles and immatures range between temperate and tropical coastal areas of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Young turtles occasionally reach northern European waters and are sometimes spotted as far south as Morocco.
Olive Ridley	Tropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Nearly unknown around oceanic islands.
Hawksbill	Throughout central Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions
Flatback	Northwestern, northern, and northeastern regions of Australia
Leatherback	Widest distribution of all sea turtles: northeastern Pacific from the Gulf of Alaska south of the Bering Sea to the southeastern Pacific near Chile; in the North Atlantic in the Barents Sea, Newfoundland, and Labrador; in the South Atlantic around Argentina and South Africa; throughout the Indian Ocean; and in the southwestern Pacific in Tasmania and New Zealand.

 

This article appeared in Beachcombing Magazine Volume 49, the July/August 2025 issue.